LGBT Community Seen As Mobile Pioneers

Madison Avenue
has assigned a new label to every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender consumer: mobile pioneer.

“They have become a bellwether for the entire population, providing a preview of
what’s to come as more consumers embrace mobile connectivity,” said Chia Chen, senior vice president and mobile practice lead at Digitas, of the LGBT community.

Backing up this
broad claim, Digitas -- in partnership with Community Marketing, Inc. -- just released a survey of 1,595 LGBT respondents with mobile devices in the United States, ages 18+.

What Digitas
found is that the majority of LGBT consumers are living in “a post-PC world.” A full 56% of respondents said they indeed prefer mobile devices over “desktops” or
“laptops.”

Long-term, the majority (51%) of LGBT mobile device users said they have used a smartphone or tablet for at least three years -- nearly twice as much as the broader
U.S. population, Digitas reports, citing a 2012 study by Edison Research.

Even senior members of the LGBT community are mobile-friendly. Digitas found that 21% of LGBT mobile device users
ages 65 and up have used a smartphone or tablet for five years or more.

Boding well for Apple’s mobile prospects, 55% of LGBT mobile users own and use iPhones, compared to 40%
who use Android-powered devices. Plus, 30% own and use iPads, while just 13% associate themselves with Android-powered tablets.

Interesting, I wonder what is behind LGBT consumers being "mobile forward" compared to the rest of the population? It could also be partly a reflection of sample skew, since people who self-identify as LGBT tend to be younger, educated and are also more likely to live in metro areas -- hence generally higher-income, and more likely to be early adopters. But it's an interesting finding either way.